


Destruction

by lavender_musings



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Denial of Feelings, F/M, One Shot, Pining, Tenderness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26612530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavender_musings/pseuds/lavender_musings
Summary: He tries not to fall for her, he does.... "tries" being the operative word.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart), Ethan Ramsey/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Destruction

**DOCTOR ETHAN RAMSEY** was a man of few uncertainities.

He was adamant on the idea that, any self-respecting thirthy-something man would have a strong sense of management in his life. From the ever unchanging ungodly hour he would get up in the mornings to the lapses he would take around the block during this morning jog; from the consistency of his sugar-free black coffee to the shapely knot of his ties, every detail in his life was planned out meticulously and to the maximum efficiency.

Only routines, he’d figured early on his career, only those could be trusted. He had himself and his discipline to count on, and not much else, let alone anybody else.

Well… maybe not just anybody.

A woman.

He had no idea he’d end up bumping into that certain je-ne-sais quoi among the pile of files Harper had handed him to. “I’ll need you to take a look at these.” she’d said in her usual patronizing charm. “Applications of some prospective interns for the internal medicine department. Some of them might end up working for you someday, so choose wisely.”

So he had. At the time, he’d believed he was only choosing a co-worker - someone he thought to be capable, and with time and effort, someone who could be a truly great doctor one day. At most, a friend. But that was all that there was to it.

Wits of irony hadn’t warned him. He’d never believed in meant-to-be’s, much less fate. And even if he had, fate too hadn’t warned him that day; that however unknowingly, he’d just chosen the person he’d get to spend the rest of his life with.

And thus had appeared the cracks in his once solid portrait of routines.

Because, for the love of Hippocrates, there was no way he could have been prepared for _this_.

Everything about her came as a challenge at first. The unyielding way she didn’t shy away from him. The fire in her eyes when she stood up for something she believed in. Her little rookie mistakes and how she made up for every single one of them. Ethan wasn’t used to that. There were few people who dared to challenge him, the ones who actually could even fewer.

So he watched her, a force of nature, as she unfolded and made herself known; demanding his respect, his attention, his trust.

He couldn’t have seen it coming, after all. He couldn’t have seen he would be glad she stayed with him and Dolores’ baby that one night. He couldn’t have pictured being in awe of how she consoled him until the first morning lights; the unassuming way her head fell on his shoulder when her eyelids fluttered close, drifting off to sleep. The unwilling hesitation in his chest when he had to move her away from his shoulders, away from the curious gazes of staff passing by.

He couldn’t have imagined needing her. When Banerji was sick, when it seemed like there was no glimmer of hope for the one person he’d considered family, when his nights were anxious and sleepless… She’d told him she would be there for him. She’d told him he wasn’t alone. For the first time in a long time, he’d been able to sleep soundlessly that night, dreams untainted and filled with the comfort she’d so graciously provided.

Yes, she was unexpected, that much he knew by now. Turning his life upside down in the span of a few short weeks with the dilemmas she’d stirred up deep inside.

It wasn’t proper, his mind fought. It was a liability, a conflict of interest.

It was beautiful, his heart chimed in. _Itwasbeautifulitwasbeautifulitwasbeautifulitwasbeautiful-_

It was also… not up to him. He didn’t just get to do it like that. She’d be risking the promise of a brilliant career, should they cross those invisible lines of propriety.

And he knew better than to let her. Just so that she could keep being brilliant.

Perhaps _too_ brilliant. “Board of directors wanted me to give you this.” Harper grumpily said one day, handing him an envelope. “Plane tickets and hotel reservations for two in Miami.” she’d answered the silent question at his raised eyebrow. “For a medical conference. You’re supposed to bring the best intern and represent Edenbrook there.” Harper was visibly unhappy about that, for at the moment, it wasn’t her niece that ranked best amongst the Edenbrook interns.

No, it was _her_ instead, that same unexpected whirlwind he’d been trying to put out of his mind. That sharpness of tongue and subtle hint of jasmine.

Once Harper closed his office door shut and he was alone once again, Ethan groaned in frustration. Him and her, alone in Miami, surrounded by hot sands and white beach. Head burried in his hands, he willed the blood away from his cheeks. She was going to be his destruction.

Complete and utter destruction.


End file.
